Declan Rice claims Atletico Madrid fans ‘provoked’ referee to overturn ‘clear penalty’ for Arsenal
Arsenal were awarded a late penalty against Atletico Madrid, but the referee then changed his decision following VAR intervention
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has doubled down on Mikel Arteta’s penalty outrage by insisting his team should have been awarded a “clear” spot-kick – and claimed the referee at the centre of the controversy was “provoked” to change his mind by Atletico Madrid’s hostile fans. Arteta was incandescent after his side’s 1-1 draw in the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final in the Spanish capital on Wednesday after referee Danny Makkelie overturned his original decision to award the visitors a late penalty when Eberechi Eze was upended in the area. Under Atletico manager Diego Simeone’s animated glare, and against the backdrop of 70,000 whistling Atletico fans, Dutch referee Makkelie watched the incident 13 times before reversing his on-pitch verdict.
Reflecting on the contentious decision, Rice insisted: “It’s a clear penalty. And I don’t know how that’s not been given. “I think the fans provoked the decision and changed the ref’s mind.
“Uefa is totally different (to the Premier League). In both boxes, you have to be so careful because they give absolutely everything. ” The referee changed his decision after originally giving Arsenal a penalty (Getty) Two VAR interventions worked against Arsenal after Ben White was adjudged to have handled Marcos Llorente’s volley – which Julian Alvarez duly converted from the spot to cancel out Viktor Gyokeres’ opener, also a penalty.
And Rice, who was speaking to Stan Sport, felt White was unfortunate. He continued: “At first glance I thought if that’s in the Premier League it doesn’t get given because it’s so low to the ground. The ball’s not going on target.